Study of Cybersecurity Knowledge Among Senior Secondary School Students in Kaduna State

Secondary school students in Nigeria are increasingly digital citizens, but their cybersecurity knowledge base, which will determine their digital safety in university and professional life, is inadequately characterised for the North West zone. This study assessed the cybersecurity knowledge of Senior Secondary School students in Kaduna North and Chikun Local Government Areas, Kaduna State, North West Nigeria. A descriptive survey was conducted among 300 SS2 and SS3 students from 15 public and private secondary schools using stratified random sampling. A 30-item cybersecurity knowledge test covered threat identification, safe practices, privacy, and incident response. Results showed a mean knowledge score of 48.6 out of 100, indicating below-average cybersecurity literacy. Students demonstrated highest knowledge in malware identification (mean 61.3) and lowest in data privacy regulations (mean 38.7). Students in private schools scored significantly higher than those in public schools (p < 0.001). Smartphone-owning students did not demonstrate significantly higher knowledge than non-owners, suggesting that device access alone does not improve security literacy. Only 9.3 percent reported having received cybersecurity education at school. Gender differences were not statistically significant. The study concludes that cybersecurity knowledge is critically low among Kaduna State secondary school students and recommends incorporating cybersecurity as a computable subject component in Computer Studies at secondary level, alongside extracurricular digital safety clubs and school security awareness events. Keywords: cybersecurity knowledge, secondary school students, Kaduna State, digital literacy, computer education